Distribution devices are used, for example, in telecommunications systems, especially when a relatively large number of subscribers are intended to be connected to an associated switching device. In addition to transferring speech data from telephones, computer data is also being increasingly transferred via such telecommunications systems.
In order to make it possible to use already existing copper cable network structures for this purpose, common transmission lines are used both for the low-frequency speech signals and for the high-frequency computer signals. In order to make it possible in this case to transfer computer data and speech data at the same time via a common line, the associated signals must be joined together both at the customer end and in a switching center, and must be separated from one another once again after the transmission path. This is done, for example, by using so-called splitter devices, which separate the speech and computer signals from one another on the basis of their different signal frequencies, and which are associated with the respective purpose. This means that data signals are preprocessed by deliberately splitting the frequency ranges of the data to be transmitted to respective speech subscribers and to the devices provided for processing of the data.
Such data preprocessing devices have until now been provided in the form of additive components, which are added as external components to existing data signal processing systems. This has resulted in problems in that data preprocessing devices such as these involve long connecting routes and a large number of electronic contact elements for producing the necessary connections for the data signal processing system. In consequence, the associated overall system becomes more expensive and more susceptible to defects overall, with the latter being the case especially with long transmission paths. In this case, signal power losses which are caused by long conductor paths and a large number of contact points must be overcome by means of complex, and once again expensive, amplification and suppression measures.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional schematic layout of such a data processing system 100 with a distribution device 110 according to the prior art. According to this figure, the distribution device 110 has two separate distribution blocks 120, 130, of which the distribution block 120 is connected, in order to transmit exclusively speech data signals, to a switching system 140 (for example a distribution block) of a telephone switching system 150 and to a splitter device 160, which is itself connected to a modem device 170 for transmitting exclusively computer data signals, and this modem device 170 is connected to a computer network 180. The second distribution block 130 of the distribution device 110 is connected to the switching system 190 (for example a distribution block) of a subscriber 200 and to the splitter device 160 in order to transmit both computer and speech data signals. In this telecommunications system, computer and speech data signals originating from the subscriber 200 are transmitted on a common line 210 to the second distribution block 130, from where they are passed on via a distribution line 220 to the splitter device 160.
The splitter device 160 separates the speech and computer data signals, with the computer data signals being passed to the modem device 170 and the speech data signals being passed to the first distribution block 120, from which it is then supplied to the telephone switching system 150. In the opposite situation, the speech data signals which arrive from the telephone switching system 150 via the first distribution block 120 as well as the computer data signals which arrive from the computer data network via the modem 170 are joined together by the splitter device 160 and are passed to the subscriber 200 via the second distribution block 130. In this telecommunications system 100, connecting lines 220, 230 with associated connections are required both between the first distribution block 120 and the splitter device 160 as well as between the second distribution block 130 and the splitter device 160.